My first CD player was tiny Sony unit the size of a Walkman, only as square as Professor Schaff's wardrobe. It was designed to be portable, but I just kept it plugged into my old stereo system. One of the first CDs I purchased was Rollins' A Night at the Village Vanguard, Vol. 2, which I found in the discount bin of a local music store. It has the little chunk cut out of the plastic case. Rollins' tenor is supported only by a base and drums, leaving a cavern that his big, saxy sound fills with a very personal brilliance. I only recently got around to purchasing his most influential album: Saxophone Colossus, featuring a more common quartet, with Tommy Flanagan on piano. Put the two together to get an idea of Rollins' incredible poetic range.
Sonny Rollins is still cookin', as is evident from his website, sonnyrollins.com (what else?). Today I discovered his podcast, which is now filling more space on my iPod. If you want to hear some of what I am talking about right now, hit this link from Daily Motion. You can listen and watch Rollins play with just a bass and drums behind him. The setting is the Netherlands, in 1959. Warning! The sound system in your PC may refuse to play anything else ever again.
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